


Pine (and Pine, and Pine)

by snaeken



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Best friends Corey and Josh, Clubbing, Corey is a good friend, Hair Dyeing, M/M, POV Corey, sinema
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-31 12:34:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19426096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snaeken/pseuds/snaeken
Summary: In which Corey helps Josh dye his hair, boost his self-confidence and get the guy.





	Pine (and Pine, and Pine)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [xTarmanderx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xTarmanderx/gifts).



“This was a terrible idea.”

Corey snorts, catching Josh’s eyes in the reflection of the bathroom mirror. His best friend is glaring at him, and between that and the dye cap on Josh’s head, Corey has to turn away to stop himself bursting into laughter.

“ _Filho da puta_ ,” Josh mutters under his breath. Corey swats Josh on the shoulder; he may not know a lot of Portuguese but he knows what that means.

“It was your idea.” Corey checks the timer on his phone. Still a few minutes to go before Josh can rinse, and entirely too late to change his mind.

“I knowww,” Josh whines. “What if it looks dumb?”

Josh has been talking about bleaching his hair for well over a year now, however he never made any moves to actually do it. So in amazing best friend fashion, Corey bought him the dye. Josh had looked at him like he’d been caught out when Corey handed it over, realising he no longer had an excuse not to do it beyond the crippling self-doubt any high schooler feels before making a big change. Corey offered to help him dye it, and it may have taken three weeks but they’re finally there.

“It’ll look great,” Corey says with absolute confidence, trying to raise Josh’s spirits. “But I also know you own at least four beanies, so.”

Josh mutters something even less flattering in Portuguese, however Corey got a smile out of him so he’s counting it as a win.

A few minutes later the timer goes off and Josh sighs with relief. “Thank god, my scalp is burning. I think I can actually feel my hair dying. Without the E,” he adds when Corey opens his mouth to make what was, in his opinion, a great joke.

They rinse the dye out, moving straight onto the shampooing and conditioning process. Honestly, this is more work that Corey thought it would be. The end result is worth it though, if he does say so himself. Josh spends a good few minutes staring at himself in the mirror, getting used to the new reflection staring back at him. Corey alternates between looking at real-Josh and mirror-Josh, growing more and more used to the bleached hair.

“It doesn’t look awful,” Josh says tentatively.

“It looks good! I’d totally kiss you.”

Mirror-Josh side-eyes him. If he keeps doing that he’s going to strain something. “I don’t see Mason being happy with that for some reason.”

“Eh, guess I’ll kiss him instead then. I happen to know he’s pretty good at it.”

“So I’ve heard.”

Corey is playing it cool and they both know it. He’s at the stage in their relationship where he wants to be around Mason all the time again, even after their awkward firsts and less awkward seconds (and thirds, and fourths…) and learning everything there is to know about each other. It’s like a second wind of puppy love, only different. There’s a more grounded element to it, less floaty and much more self-assured from both of them, the initial all-encompassing joy of being in a new relationship having worn off and petered out. It’s what was left afterwards that Corey was looking for, what he’s now realised he didn’t have with Lucas. It’s knowing they still feel the same about each other, the way they seem to hone in on each other in open spaces without even trying, the way their faces both break out in uncontrollable grins when they lock eyes. It’s knowing they both want to be together for as long as they can make it work. Hopefully it’s forever.

Maybe tonight will finally be the night Josh takes his first steps towards that with Brett.

Corey is still half-convinced Josh only wanted to bleach hair hair because of Brett; it was literally love at first sight, the first time they went to Sinema together. Hayden snuck them in through the back door, on the promise that they stay within each other’s lines of sight and they don’t accept drinks from anyone if they haven’t seen it being poured themselves. That’s when they saw him, strobe lights illuminating his face and his bleach blond hair as he danced in the middle of a guy and a girl. Josh had said a string of _something_ , probably Portuguese even though the music in the club was too loud to make it out; Josh always falls back into Portuguese whenever he’s angry or not fully paying attention to a conversation, so it’s not too much of a stretch to assume he’d speak it when falling in love at first sight.

Even after more trips to Sinema than Corey can count, and Brett having cut his hair and let his natural colour come through, Josh still insisted he wanted to bleach his hair. Brett may have been the catalyst but the rest was all Josh. Now he just needs to show his crush what he’s been missing out on.

***

Josh is fidgeting in the line so Corey clasps hold of his wrist and squeezes, a reassurance he looks fine and that he has nothing to worry about. The line is moving slowly so Corey and Mason chat about whatever they can think of, trying to involve Josh to keep him present instead of in his own head. They wouldn’t have had this problem if they could still get in the back entrance, however Hayden’s boss caught her letting them in one too many times and it was made clear to her it wasn’t to happen again. What an asshole.

“Dude,” Mason says when Josh makes a self-deprecating comment, “seriously, your hair looks great. He’s an idiot if he doesn’t fall in love with you on the spot.”

The thing about Brett is, from what Corey can tell, he doesn’t seem to do relationships. Or not that Corey knows of, anyway. Josh is also aware of this, hence why he’s never tried to make a move himself. He’s always said he thinks it would hurt more to have Brett for a night and never again than it does to pine from afar. Personally Corey dreads to think what his life would be like without Mason, glad he was able to fake the courage needed to ask Mason to go out with him sometime and that he actually said yes. Still, it’s not something he can do for Josh or force him into doing, he needs to approach Brett in his own time. They’ve all spoken, of course, shared jokes and laughs and friendly conversations. Despite their assumption that Brett doesn’t date anyone, Corey has noticed the way Brett looks at Josh. It’s the same way he and Mason danced around each other for a short while, the way Theo and Liam danced around each other until Mason quite literally locked them in a room together because he got sick of all the pining. He doesn’t think Josh and Brett are quite at that stage yet, although they’re not far off it. Corey might need to keep a close eye on Mason for the foreseeable future.

The music is loud when they finally get inside, the bass pulsing through his feet and up his body just the way Corey likes it. He clocks Brett almost immediately, the way Josh has unintentionally taught him to do. It helps that Brett is half a foot taller than most of the people in the club. What’s really comical, however, is when Brett catches sight of them. Or, more specifically, when he catches sight of _Josh_. He stands still and slack-jawed out on the dancefloor for a few moments before he remembers himself and starts dancing again, but the girl with him has officially lost his attention. Corey grins and points Josh in Brett’s direction, and he swears when the two of them lock eyes it’s as if everything and everyone else in the club has disappeared for them.

Brett makes his way off the dancefloor and Corey nudges Josh forwards, Mason giving him another nudge for good measure,

“Go get your guy,” Corey half-yells at him to be heard over the music. Josh gives them a tentative smile and a nod, then heads over to meet Brett halfway.

He and Mason watch in rapt fascination as they chat, too far away to hear, Josh running a hand through his hair and ducking his head at one point. Then, against all odds, Josh holds his hand out. A slow smile spreads across Brett’s face and he takes Josh’s hand, leading him over to the dancefloor.

He tries not to spend his night watching every move the two of them make, however he feels less bad about it when Mason is just as invested in this as he is. It’s been over a year in the making, after all.

When they drag each other off the dancefloor nearly an hour later though, grinning at each other as they stumble past the bodies blocking their path? When Brett ends up with his back pressed against one of the pillars, Josh pressed against his front, the strobe lights doing absolutely nothing to hide them? When Brett leans down and Josh leans up, and the two of them kiss, and kiss, and kiss?

That really makes Corey’s night.

“I’m a damn good flight attendant,” he announces. Mason kisses his cheek, leaning his head on his shoulder.  
”That you are, babe. That you are.”


End file.
